The Stitch Up

Desert Escape

I try to get out West to visit my family as much as possible and the fact that they live out in the desert makes these trips not just a wonderful reunion with people I love - but also a nice little warm weather escape when the weather on the east coast is still dismal and cold.

I made an trek out in early Spring.  We were still getting snow at home but once I arrived in Arizona it was perfection.

I pretty much lose my mind while I'm there trying to take the perfect sunset and sunrise photo.  I got up early and drove out to some of the hills around tow. I stopped randomly on the side of the road when we were coming home from dinner so I could catch the last rays of the sun.  I think I was driving my parents a little nuts and I still never felt like I was capturing how beautiful it was.

The great thing is that there is always another chance to get the perfect photo!  

My visit was wonderful and relaxing and I'm once again counting the days until my next trip.  Thank goodness the weather here has finally improved and we're fully enjoying Spring.  We don't have quite the dramatic sunsets here, but with the flowers and green everywhere I've still been taking pics nonstop.  I hope everyone is getting some sun, enjoying Spring and taking beautiful pictures!

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The West Is Best

The West Is Best

I try to get out to see my family in Arizona a couple times a year and to see my "home girls" in California at least once a year.  I love getting back to the desert.  I've grown to love Virginia and all of the green we're surrounded by here, but there is something about the desert and the mountains that still just makes me so happy.

I can always tell I'm getting close to my parents house when these warning signs start popping up:

I've actually never seen one of these wild donkeys but I keep hoping.  

My Mom and I always do some walking in the early mornings.  She's out somewhat in the middle of nowhere and I love the openness of the area and the quiet.

It's always quality time when I visit my parents.  We did a lot of relaxing at home and Mom and I snuck in some time at the spa and some shopping (of course).  I spotted this at one of the spots around town and thought it was amazing:

The artist uses reclaimed wood from the river.  This represents a native american spirit of the water - it was lovely!

After time with my parents I headed to Cali for some time with my girlfriends.  These are ladies I've known since we were kids and being with them is comfortable like family.  No matter how many months or sometimes years have passed since we were together in person, it feels like it was just yesterday.

My friend Teresa, who I stayed with, has an AMAZING collection of vintage hand embroidered textiles and I went a little crazy taking pics of them.

Crazy, beautiful stuff right?  

She also has a couple of framed hand embroidered pictures of flowers made by yours truly that I gave her many years ago.  I have to say, it's makes me so happy to see that someone still uses something I made years later.

They've held up pretty well!

In addition to chatting, eating, chatting and eating some more, we took a little day trip up to Idylwild.  It's so pretty and it provides a little break from the heat.

There are a lot of cute shops.  An artisan jerky shop had this sign out front that made me laugh:

In the vein of cool wood carvings, I also came across this GIANT carving of the Buddha:

It was a pretty relaxing day all around.

Sadly after a few days of relaxing and catching up with these wonderful ladies, I was back on the road headed home.  The only up side was that I had a night in Vegas to chill out, eat some more great food and enjoy the pool.

Vacations are tough, what can I say?

I'm back on the east coast now, wich I do love, but I'm also counting down the days until my next trip out west.